Abramovich to offer Guardiola total control of Chelsea in bid to woo Barca boss

Saturday 28 April 2012

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will offer Pep Guardiola unprecedented control over affairs at Stamford Bridge in an attempt to convince the soon-to-be-ex Barcelona Head Coach to step into the managerial vacancy at the club, the Daily Telegraph has reported.

Guardiola on Friday confirmed he was to step down from his role at the Nou Camp after four years in charge, citing exhaustion as the primary reason. At the same time the 41-year-old said he would be taking at least a year out from football yet the Telegraph says Guardiola is thought to have met with Abramovich’s personal assistant recently as well as speaking with former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti to gather his insight into the Champions League finalists.

Roberto Di Matteo is currently employed at Chelsea as the club’s interim manager but the Italian’s future past the end of this season has yet to be resolved. The Telegraph suggests that Guardiola’s desire to take some time out of football could lead to Di Matteo being kept on in a caretaker role past the end of the season, effectively until Guardiola is ready to return to the game.

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